COMPETITION HOTS UP FOR SPRING TERM SCHOOL INSPECTIONS

The level of competition for contracts to carry out school inspections has nearly doubled from the autumn term to t...

The level of competition for contracts to carry out school inspections has nearly doubled from the autumn term to the spring term, figures released by the Office for Standards in Education revealed today.

Announcing the successful contractors for the 316 secondary school inspections to be conducted next term, OFSTED said that bids averaged 3.2 for each contract compared with 1.8 in the autumn term.

This reflects the continuing development of the inspection market as more inspectors gain registration and a wider range of organisations are putting teams together, a spokesman said..

In addition to local education authority teams and LEA-based inspection units, the spring term inspections have been awarded to university and diocesan-run inspection services as well as those operated by charities, exam boards, large and small partnerships, consultancies and individual registered inspectors.

The market share won by LEA teams of all kinds is 63.8% (200 schools), compared with 78% in the autumn. Of these, 75 schools are not maintained by the contracted LEA because they are self-governing or in another LEA's area.

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